The Kisses and the Bruises
by Vampire Moogle
Summary: -Slash: SqxI- Squall comes home to find strangers waiting for him and signs up to be a guardian. Years later, the child has grown into a beautiful teenager and starts making life complicated for Squall.
1. Prologue

**_Disclamer: _**It is unfortunate, but I don't own any charaters or products/companies mentioned in this story and I am making no money off of it.

* * *

_**Prologue: **_

Driving home that night, in summer's first real thunderstorm was terrible. The rain pounded straight down so hard against the windshield of Squall's little silver car that it was made it almost impossible for him to see through it to the road. It was slightly easier to see the other few cars on the road, due to their bright yellow headlights, but Squall was still thankful that he had only five more minutes to go until he reached the safety of his driveway. When he finally parked his car, he let a sigh of relief escape his lips and felt all the muscles in his body relax.

Squall waited a few moments, before getting out of his car. As soon as he pushed open the door, he felt the force of the wind pushing back against him, as if the storm wanted to keep him right where he was. He climbed out of his car, becoming instantly soaked in the cold rainwater, making the cool summer night feel more like early spring. Reaching back in as quickly as he could, Squall grabbed the backpack that contained his wallet and his dirty work uniform and flung the object over one shoulder. With the help of the wind, he slammed the car door shut and hurried up to his front door, retrieving his keys from his pocket.

He was about to put his key in the lock when he thought he heard someone calling his name, he turned to see two figures in hooded raincoats quickly walking up his driveway. By the size of them, Squall guessed that it was an adult and a child. Checking his watch he wondered why these people were here this late, waiting for him to come home from work.

"Mr. Leonhart?" A woman's voiced repeated hesitantly as she approached. The child walked quickly behind her as if afraid to leave the safety of her side, Squall noted.

"Yes, what do you want?" Squall asked, turning his attention back on the woman who now stood a few feet in front of him.

"My name is Garnet Dagger, I'm a social worker. And I'm – I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news for you, Mr. Leonhart," The woman said sadly, looking behind her and placing a comforting hand on the child's shoulder. "May we come in to talk?"

"Alright," he agreed. Squall turned back around and proceeded to unlock and open his front door. He held the door open for the two strangers as they walked into his house. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind himself, succeeding in shutting the storm out. Squall stared at the pair invading his home; the woman had taken off her hood to reveal a very pretty face framed by thick shoulder length hair. She was young, but years of stress had aged her, making her appear much older than she really was.

The child had also taken their hood as well, Squall noticed. Violet eyes, swollen and red from crying, stared sadly into his grey ones. The kid – boy or girl, Squall couldn't tell which – tried to hide between long waves of chestnut hair.

Squall's eyes found their way back to Garnet. "What is it you wanted to tell me?" he asked, leaning back against the door.

The woman seemed a bit startled that Squall wanted to talk about the reason they were there standing right in the middle of the hall. "Wouldn't you like to sit down and talk about it Mr. Leonhart?" She asked.

"It's Squall," he replied, getting annoyed at the formalities and that she seemed to be stalling. "And just say it. I don't have all night."

Garnet frowned, "Oh," she said looking back at the child. She pulled the kid in front of her and placed her hands on his shoulders, holding him in place, facing Squall. "Your sister Rinoa and her husband passed away Friday of last week in a house fire."

Squall stared blackly at the woman and let the information sink into his brain. He couldn't remember having a sister. When he was little, going from one foster home to the next, there were a lot of 'siblings' that he had, but that name sounded so familiar to him.

"Rinoa," he said then repeated it over a few more times. Finally he remembered that she was in the last foster home that he was in for about two years she had turned eighteen, she moved in with her boyfriend. After she left, his foster mother had adopted Squall and he had never heard from Rinoa again.

"Yes," Garnet said, she rubbed her hands soothingly up and down the arms of the child in front of her, when the kid started crying. "This is Rinoa's son, Irvine."

Squall stood there silently, still taking it all in. He looked back at the boy who had tears flowing down his cheeks dripping off his chin and getting lost in the water on his raincoat. Irvine stared down at Squall's feet, biting his bottom lip, and trying desperately not to cry. When Squall's eyes finally went back to Garnet's green ones, he was slightly surprised that she had started without him noticing.

" - And yes, I understand that you and Ms. Rinoa aren't actually related in any way, but if you can't afford to, or do not wish to take care of Irvine, he'll go back to the foster home he has been staying in."

Squall thought about it, gaze drifting down to the boy once again. The foster care system had been the worse experience of his life. Being that young and constantly moving from place to place, staying with stranger after stranger can really mess a kid up. As he stared into the beautiful eyes of the child before him, he just couldn't let the kid go through the same thing he did, even if he's not related him in any way. Without looking back up to Garnet, he said the words that he knew was going to change his life forever, "I'll take him."

It had taken over two hours before Garnet and Squall had finished with all the paperwork, making him Irvine's legal guardian Even though Squall was still very young, the man had more than enough money to support the child, since his adopted mother had passed away recently and left him with quite a fortune.

* * *

When it was time for Garnet to go, the little ten-year-old boy spoke for the first time since he walked through Squall's door. "Bye Garnet," he said, hugging her around the waist after she pulled her coat back on. 

"Bye Sweetie," she replied gently running her hands over his soft hair. "And don't worry, I'll be back soon to check up on you and see how you're doing. So be a good boy for Squall, ok?"

"Ok," Irvine said, trying to hold back more tears. He had grown very attached to Garnet over the past week and didn't want to see her go. He watched as she stepped outside in the pouring rain and she gave him one last smile and a wave before she left to get in her car.

Squall watched the entire display between Irvine and Garnet with interest. He briefly wondered what the boy was like before he lost his parents, but Squall pushed that thought from his mind; he had more important things to think about. Like now that he has the kid, how the hell was he going to raise him?

Before he knew it, Irvine had closed the door and was staring at him expectantly. The little boy began fidgeting with the fabric of his t-shirt, and Squall didn't have a clue what to do or say to the kid. He didn't have much time to think about it before Irvine started talking again.

"Is it true that you're only nineteen?" He asked, curious violet eyes searching Squall's.

"Who said that?" Squall asked, raising an eyebrow down at the kid.

"Garnet," Irvine said, placing his hands behind his back and taking a step closer to Squall. "Is it true?"

"Yeah," Squall replied. "I am."

Irvine amused himself by sliding a sock covered foot on the linoleum floor while he thought through his next question. "How can you be old enough to take care of me if you're a teenager?" he asked.

Squall stayed silence for a minute as he looked over the small child before him. He didn't understand how the kid had gone from puffy-eyed and crying to talkative within a few minutes. He figured that it was just the mind of a child and that they probably went through more mood swings than women did.

"I'll manage," Squall finally replied. He let a yawn escape his lips and he realized how tired he actually was. Checking his watch, he noted it was a little past midnight and he had a ten-year-old standing wide-awake in his hallway, and that it was probably way after the kid's bedtime. "Alright, Squirt, let's get you to bed."

"But I'm not sleepy," Irvine protested, and tried to hide a yawn.

"Right," Squall said, still eyeing the child with one eyebrow raised. He honestly didn't know what to do with the kid. He feared that if he asked what his parents used to do for him, than Irvine might switch back to crying mode again, and a teary eyed child was not what he knew how to deal with right now.

"Where am I going to sleep?" Irvine asked. He seemed to realize that he was tired as he rubbed the back of his hand over one of his big violet eyes.

"I'm not sure just yet," Squall replied truthfully. His house had a guest bedroom, so he decided that the kid should sleep there. He turned and walked down the hall and made his way up the stairs with Irvine following close behind. Walking into a room on the left he flicked on the light switch revealing a plain room with a double bed in the center and a small stand next to it. In the corner an old dresser stood beside the closet doors.

Irvine stepped into the room behind Squall, taking in all of its details as he spun around a few times on the soft blue carpet. Finally he stopped and turned to look up at his new guardian. "Is this going to be my room?" he asked.

"For now," Squall said walking over to the dresser that was full of old clothes. Since all of Irvine's belongings had been destroyed in the fire, Squall was going to have to find something for the child to wear. After a few minutes of searching through the drawers, Squall pulled out a white t-shirt that was too small for him, and a pair of drawstring shorts that he never wore anymore. He walked back over to Irvine and handed the clothes down to the kid. "You can use these as pajamas until I get you some new clothes."

Irvine nodded in understanding, holding the clothes tight against his small chest. He looked scared now, like being in a strange place was finally starting to affect him. The 'lost puppy' look that he wore just made him seem much cuter than he already was.

Squall was about to leave the room when he stopped at the door. "Is there anything else you need?" he asked, both hands on either side of the doorframe. "Something to eat or drink before you go to bed?"

Irvine looked around the room once again before he shook his head, making his chestnut waves fly around his small head.

Deciding that the kid had switched back to silent mode, Squall sighed. "Alright, well the bathroom is the next door down the hall. I'll leave the light on for you." He grabbed the doorknob and started to pull it closed a little. "And my bedroom is the other door, if you need anything." He waited until Irvine nodded before he closed the door all the way shut.

Just as he had promised, he turned the bathroom's light on and left the door open before he went to his own room to get ready for bed. He left his bedroom door open as well, just in case, then climbed into his king sized bed in a white wife beater and a pair of boxers. It took Squall a while to fall asleep since the thunderstorm still lit up the sky every few minutes with loud thunder following close behind it.

Shortly after Squall had fallen asleep, Irvine had found his way to the teenager's bedroom. "Squall," the little boy said, poking the older man awake. "Squall?"

The teenager rolled over onto his side and blinked at the child in front of him. It took Squall a second to realize why there was a kid in his house, "What's the matter," he asked.

A flash of lightning lit up the room for a second and Squall clearly saw the look of terror on the child's face, and when the thunder rolled around, Irvine visibly flinched at the loud noise.

"Are you afraid of the storm?" Squall asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Irvine nodded.

"It's been going on since this afternoon it shouldn't last much longer," Squall said, running his hand through his tangled dark brown hair. "Go back to bed and try to get some sleep, ok?"

Irvine didn't move a muscle as he looked at Squall expectantly. It looked like if he moved, he'd start crying again.

"Alright," Squall sighed after a second. He held up the blanket for Irvine as the child smiled for the first time since he had arrived, and quickly climbed onto the bed and snuggled up against Squall. "But just this once," he said, bringing the child closer to him. He rapped his arm around Irvine's shoulders and stroked his hair until the kid fell sound asleep in his arms.

"Just this once," Squall repeated and drifted off to sleep as well.

* * *

**_  
AN: _**Yay, new story. I'm very excited about this one. I've got big plans for it. I posted this to just give you a taste of it, and I hope it tasted good. The next chapter will be six or seven years later (I haven't decided which yet). And I'm not posting any pairings because it's going to be a surprise. So you won't know who ends up with who. And I might chance my mind in the middle to make twists. So there. 

Anyways, I hope that it sounds believable. I don't really know anything about the foster care system so I kinda just made things up as I went along. And I wasn't really sure what category to put this in because it's going to contain lots of Final Fantasy characters, but I decided on FFVII, because it's going to be mainly about those characters.


	2. Chapter One

_**AN: **_Wow, I really didn't expect this to take that long to write. Sweat drop Thanks to everyone who reviewed (I hope I answered all of the questions you guys had for me). This chapter is for you. And a special thanks to **_MoshiMosh_**, my annon. angry reader. All I have to say is: "who's the 'friggin idot'?" And if I can't write, then you can't read. Really, thanks for the amusing flame. It made my day. First you censor out your curse, then you say it uncensored at the end. Classic.

* * *

**_Chapter One: Every Day is Different, But the Nights They're All the Same_**

Loud cursing coming from another room woke Squall up. He shifted under the soft covers of his bed so that he was now lying on his back. Half listening to the continued cursing, Squall let his mind wander back to the dream he had. The dream was of the stormy night when a young boy was suddenly tossed into his life by a pretty social worker. In a week it would be the seventh anniversary of that night, Squall noted. When he thought back about it, the words he told Garnet sounded more like he was adopting a puppy, not becoming a guardian.

_I'll take him, _the words echoed in the back of his mind as he slipped out of bed. Dressed only in a pair of black silk boxers, Squall made his way from his bedroom to the kitchen, where his 'nephew' let out another string of colourful curses.

"You're late," Squall said leaning against the doorframe, as he watched Irvine run around the kitchen, trying to get his lunch put together for school.

The boy froze and turned to look at Squall when he heard the soft, yet demanding voice of his guardian. He almost dropped the apple that he was about to stuff into his lunch bag as he started at Squall's bare chest. In a spilt second, he quickly realized what he was doing and turned back to face the counter, succeeding in hiding the slight blush that had crept across his cheeks.

"I know," Irvine said, putting the apple and the rest of his lunch in his backpack. "I was just about to wake you. I need a ride to school."

"Yeah, whatever," he heard Squall say. After years of living with the man Irvine knew that was Squall speak for 'alright, I'm coming.'

Irvine waited until he heard his guardian's retreating footsteps before he turned around again and sighed. He did not need that kind of image in his head at this time of the morning, especially when he was going to be late for school. Quickly running back to his room, he ran a brush through his long hair a couple of times before he put in its usual ponytail using his silver elastic. Garden Academy, the private school he attended, required all long hair be pulled back for boys so they looked respectable. With one last look in his mirror he adjusted his uniform's navy blue tie and tried to smooth out some wrinkles on his white dress shirt before he made his was back into the kitchen to retrieve his stuff for school.

When he retuned to the kitchen Squall was dressed in a pair of old tight leather pants and a faded black t-shirt. He waited impatiently for Irvine, his keys dangling loosely in his hand. "Ready?"

"I think so," Irvine replied, grabbing his school's matching navy blazer and he slipped it on and headed for the front door. "It doesn't matter anyways, we don't leave now I'm definitely going to be late for school."

"Hn," Squall agreed, following the teen outside. He locked the door behind them and got into his car along with Irvine. It took only a second for him to get the car started and he quickly pulled out of the driveway and sped off down the street, leaving behind the empty bungalow that they moved into five years ago.

Minutes later, Squall pulled his car into the school parking lot and pulled up to the entrance. Irvine was glad that they lived so close to the school; he still had five minutes before he needed to get to his first class of the day, thanks to Squall's speedy driving. He grabbed his bag from the back seat, and was about to get out of the car, when he stopped and turned back to Squall.

"Where's my kiss?" he asked looking playfully up at his guardian.

Squall looked over to the passenger's side and half glared at Irvine. "You were late," he replied. "You don't get one. Get out or I'll be late for work."

"Squall," Irvine whined. "I'm not leaving until you kiss me."

Squall sighed, realizing that he'd never be able to get out of it as long as Irvine was still breathing. The boy never once forgot about it, even if it made him late for anything. "Alright," he said, leaning over and snaking his hand behind Irvine's head. He pulled the boy closer and placed a gentle kiss on the teen's forehead. "You should have grown out of this."

"I know," Irvine said, he opened the door quickly and hopped out of the car, slinging his backpack onto his right shoulder. "Believe me, I know," he said more to himself while he winked back at Squall and closed the door. He could hear the window of Squall's car going down as he walked off.

"Irvine."

Irvine turned around when Squall called his name. "Yeah?" he asked, tilting his hear slightly to the side.

"No more swearing."

"Whatever you say," Irvine said, his lush lips forming into a shy smile; the smile he only showed to his beloved guardian. Squall gave him one last glance and wave as he pulled the silver car away from the curb, leaving Irvine watch the car fade into the distance.

Turning towards the academy, Irvine's mind was still on what just happened in the car. He smiled lightly to himself and made his way into the building, letting the memories of his first day of school with his new guardian come flooding back to him.

* * *

_Irvine stood beside Squall, his small hand grasping the material of the older boy jeans as he took in his new surroundings. The classroom before him was quite small with twenty or so desks lined in the available space. The teacher sat at her desk at the front of the room, going over some papers while her students worked in their notebooks. The alphabet and posters with sayings that were supposed to encourage children to learn were plastered all over the walls and beside the big green chalkboard._

_Squall took a small step just inside the classroom dragging Irvine with him as he knocked lightly on the open door. The teacher glanced up, locking her mixed matched eyes with Squall's before she noticed Irvine. She smiled kindly as she put down the red pen she was marking with and stood up to meet her guests._

"_Hello," she said, her smile growing. "You may call me Ms Yuna. What can I do for you?"_

"_My uh –" Squall began, looking down at Irvine. Just what was the small boy to Squall, they weren't related by blood at all; he was just the kid's legal guardian. He decided that the best explanation of their relationship was the term Garnet had frequently used to refer to the child. "– Nephew just transferred."_

"_Ah yes," Ms Yuna said. "My new student." She bent down so she was eye level with Irvine, her eyes, one green and one blue, mesmerizing the boy as he stared back at her. "Hello Irvine," she said, her soft voice calming the child's nerves a bit. "Welcome to my fourth grade class. I hope we can be friends."_

_Irvine nodded. He moved closer to Ms Yuna, his grip on Squall's jeans slipping as he became braver and looked behind his new teacher and at the faces of the other children all staring at him._

_Ms Yuna stood and looked at Squall "It was nice to meet you …" she trailed off realizing that she didn't know her visitor's name._

"_Squall," he supplied. "What time does school finish at?"_

"_Three-fifteen."_

"_Right." Squall paused. He looked over at Irvine as he was making friends with a little girl with short hair. She giggled madly at the boy while he told a joke to her. "I'll be back to pick Irvine then."_

"_Alright. Good bye," Ms Yuna said with a slight wave of her hand at Squall's retreating back. She turned back to her class. "Children, you may all put away your math work and move your desks to form a circle so your new classmate may begin to learn your names."_

_Irvine stood back and watched all the other children shuffle all their things into their desks. He smiled when he looked at the girl he was just talking to and she smiled back. He glanced back to the doorway and his smile vanished. Squall was gone! Irvine's heart pounded in his small chest and his violet eyes grew wide as he began to panic. "S-Squall?" He was afraid that Squall was going to disappear just like his parents._

_Ms Yuna noticed that Irvine was frantically looking around the room and she quickly went over to him. "What's wrong Irvine?" she asked. "Are you alright?"_

_Irvine continued to search for his guardian, his teacher's voice doing little to calm him. "Where's Squall?"_

"_He left," Ms Yuna said gesturing to the open door. "He can't stay in class all day. I'm sure –"_

_Irvine didn't stay to hear whatever his teacher was trying to explain to him. He darted out the door, only pausing to look both directions for Squall._

_Ms Yuna called after him, but the boy was already running down the hall after his guardian. "Squall!"_

_The teenager turned paused and turned around at the sound of Irvine's terrified voice. "Irv –" the man paused when his nephew ran right into him, making him stumble back slightly as the small boy's arms encircling his waist. "What the?"_

_Irvine buried his face into Squall's stomach while his grip around the man tightened. "Where are you going?" he asked after a moment._

_Squall awkwardly looked down at the child wrapped around him. He had no idea what to do other than answer Irvine's question. "Work."_

_Irvine lifted his head to look up at Squall and let go of his waist. "Why didn't you say 'good bye' to me?"_

_Squall continued to stare at the boy. He was about to shrug it off with a 'whatever' but when Irvine's eyes started to water he just offered a quick apology._

"_Sorry."_

_It seemed to calm Irvine down to the point where he was no longer going to cry, but he was still very upset. "Are you going to come back?" The boy said it so quietly that Squall almost didn't hear it._

"_Yeah."_

"_When?"_

"_When school's out." He sighed tracing his finger along the long scar that stretched diagonally from right to left above his nose. It was only then that he realized that this was the first time since Irvine's parents died that they would be separated. He guessed that Irvine was nervous about being abandoned there and that was something that Squall never planned on doing. "I'll come to your classroom to get you."_

"_Promise?" Irvine asked. His entire body seemed to relax at Squall's words._

"_Yeah."_

_Irvine smiled brightly. All thoughts about anything bad happening in the future left him at that moment. "Ok. But don't forget about my kiss next time."_

_Squall frowned down at the kid. "Your what?" He looked up when he heard shuffling down the hall and locked eyes with Ms. Yuna who was standing in her classroom doorway. She gave him a reassuring smile as if she could hear them and knew exactly what Irvine was talking about._

"_My kiss," Irvine repeated slowly, suddenly afraid he was doing something wrong._

"_What do you mean by that?"_

"_Mom and Dad used to give me a good bye kiss on my forehead …" Irvine trailed off, unsure if he was doing something he shouldn't be._

"_Oh," Squall said, breathing a sigh of relief. He glanced back up to see Ms. Yuna still smiling at him, but this time she wasn't alone. The little girl that had been talking to Irvine earlier had curiously stuck her head out into the hall to see what was going on and what had happened to her new friend. "Alright," Squall finally agreed. He knelt down in front of Irvine and gently pulled the boy's head towards him as he awkwardly placed a kiss on Irvine's forehead._

_After Squall pulled back and stood up, he looked at Irvine who was smiling so brightly at him, that he thought the kid was going to spontaneously combust at any second, the kid looked that happy. He frowned as he watched Irvine turn around in the blink of an eye and race back to the classroom. Ms. Yuna was now giving him a knowing smile as she gave him another small wave and disappeared into her classroom._

* * *

"Earth to Irvine," a girl's voice called out and suddenly appeared in front of Irvine. He briefly wondered how she was always able to sneak up on him like that but gave up, quickly realizing that he'd never understand anything the small brunette did.

"Morning Selphie," Irvine said, smiling at the short girl walking backwards in front of him.

"Oh thank god," Selphie replied, trying to smooth out the wrinkles of her uniform's pleated skirt. "I thought you were going to ignore me all day. You know, with the way you were like mindlessly walking and staring into space. It kinda reminded me of a zombie, you know with the whole just walking along - " She started walking beside him slower and with her arms stretched out in front of her. She shifted her weight from foot to foot unevenly so she was almost waddling like a penguin. "- and the 'uuuuggggh'."

"Why on earth are you acting like Frankenstein, Selphie?" A blond boy with a tattoo on the left side of his face said, as he came to walk in step beside Irvine. "Trying to impress the boys, are we?"

Selphie stopped what she was doing and began to walk normally on the other side of Irvine. "Your so mean, Zell," she said. "And I was supposed to be a zombie."

Irvine looked from the Selphie to Zell and listened at his two best friends fought with him in the middle. He put an arm around Selphie to comfort her. "Don't worry, Hun," he said. "Zell's just teasin' you because he likes you. That's all."

"Hmph." Zell replied. "You know that's about as likely as you liking someone who ain't your uncle."

Selphie giggled madly. "Oh yeah, I saw you two love birds this morning when you were making out in your car at the front of the school!" She said excitedly.

"You were doing _what _in front of the school?" Zell almost yelled.

"Selphie!" Irvine glared at the girl. "We were not making out. He was giving me my kiss. That's all." He explained.

"Oh," Zell sighed.

"Yeah, and it's still as cute as the first time I saw it when you transferred to our class." Selphie said, practically jumping up and down. "It makes me melt every time I see it. Aw, Irvy, you're so lucky. I wish I'd get kissed everyday by the man I'm love with."

"Selphie," Zell began. "Are you even in love with anyone?"

Selphie paused a moment and brought her finger up to her lips to think about it. "Well, no. But if I was in love with someone, I'd want him to kiss me every time we'd part like Squall does for Irvine."

"The only reason Squall does that for me is because when I was ten I wouldn't leave until he gave me a kiss on my forehead like my parents used to do for me before they died." Irvine said.

Both Selphie and Zell stayed silent. They were always like that when Irvine mentioned his parents. Since it didn't happen often they were never really quite sure what to do. Selphie was the first to break the group's silence though, she couldn't stand when one of her friends were sad so she decided that it was always up to her to change the subject onto something happier.

"Did you do it last night Irvy?" she asked.

"Do what?" Irvine said, giving the girl beside him a funny look.

"Oh, you know, confess your undying love to a certain scarred hottie."

"Oh yeah," Zell said pumping his skilled martial artists hands into the air. "That was supposed to be your big night. How'd it go?"

It was Irvine's turn to be silent. He continued walking in the direction of their first class of the day and didn't say a word.

"Didn't go so well?" Selphie asked, pouting a little.

"It didn't go at all," Irvine finally replied.

"Aw," She wrapped her arms around her best friend in a comforting hug. "Poor Irvy. Don't worry, though. I'm sure you'll be able to tell him soon."

"Yeah," Irvine agreed, hugging the girl back. "I know, because tonight will definitely be the night."

Zell and Selphie exchanged a knowing look. They knew that Irvine probably wouldn't be able to work up the courage to confess his love to Squall but they both were going to be supportive. Especially since it had taken him so long for him to tell his two best friends his true sexuality. Oh course they had already known he was gay, but it didn't matter.

"Of course." Zell smiled. "You can do it, man."

"That's the spirit!" Selphie cheered.

Zell looked down at his watch and his smile faded. "We better hurry up guys, or we're going to be late for class."

"Aw," Selphie whined. "I can't be late. Professor Trepe said if I'm late one more time she's going to call home. I'll get grounded for sure this time."

"We'll be fine," Zell assured her. "We're almost there and we've got two minutes left before we'd be considered late. Besides, Trepe probably has her hands full with the new transfer kid that she probably won't care if we're late."

"New transfer kid?" she repeated.

"Yeah, weren't you listening yesterday when Trepe announced it at the beginning of class?"

"Selphie and I were both late yesterday morning." Irvine said.

"Oh right," Zell said smiling sheepishly. "Well anyways, there's a ton of rumors floating around about him. He's supposed to be some real badass that got kicked out of his last school. Oh, and I heard that he failed a grade, so he's a year older than us."

"Oh wow," Selphie said. "Sounds exciting. It's been so long since this school had a transfer student. I wonder if he's anything like Vincent Valentine."

"I don't think so. The world doesn't need another guy like Valentine. He's as bad as they get."

Irvine and Selphie nodded in agreement as they followed Zell into their first classroom of the day just as the bell rang for class to begin.

_Today was going to be the perfect ending to the perfect day, _thought Irvine. Sure, It had started out a little rough this morning when he woke up late and ended up almost not making it to his first class on time, but it got better. Irvine had taken the bus home, instead of his normal walking, so he'd arrive home before Squall. Selphie suggested he make heart-shaped cookies for his guardian to make it easier to confess. The brunet thought that it was a wonderful idea so he started right when he got home.

"This is so easy," Irvine told himself as he added the correct amount of eggs to the gooey mixture that was supposed to be cookie batter. He wasn't sure what Zell what so worried about; the blond also thought it was a good idea until he remembered that Irvine doesn't know how to bake. Irvine figured that as long as he followed the recipe, that it couldn't possibly be that hard.

After adding the chocolate chips into the mix, Irvine gave it a quick stir with his wooden spoon and decided that it was good enough. He realized that he forgot to pre-heat the oven, a minor set back, but Irvine was determined to do what he had been trying to do for the past year. It was only after he had spent a good ten minutes searching every inch of the kitchen when Irvine came to the conclusion that they didn't own any heart shaped cookie cutters.

"Damn," he said. In his search, he also noticed that they didn't have any cookie sheets to bake the cookies on. Irvine let a long drawn out sigh escape his lips as he realized that he was going to have to shape all the cookies himself and use a regular old backing sheet to cook the cookies on.

Somewhere around shaping the tenth wad of dough into a heart Irvine nervously glanced at the glowing red numbers of the clock from the microwave. It was taking him longer to make these than he first thought. Squall would be home in about fifteen minutes, and he had to find a way to hurry things up, or he'd loss what little confidence he had at the moment and chicken out.

Taking measures into his own hands and decided to speed up the entire process so the cookies would be ready to eat by the time Squall walked in the front door.

* * *

_**AN: **_Sorry for the cliffhangie ending. I was excited to post the fisrt chapter. Yay. Anyways, if anyone is wondering where I got the titles from, I borrowed them from lines of Great Big Sea songs (I don't own them).

(Just trying to keep track of things here.)  
May 1st, 2007:  
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	3. Chapter Two

_**AN: **_Yay for updating quickly!! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried to write it as fast as humanly possible (for me), to make up for the long wait from the previous chapter._**  
**_

* * *

_**Chapter Two: I'm not ready to say 'I love you' yet**_

Squall signed as he walked over to his little beat up car, unlocking the silver machine and slipping inside. He set his bag filled with all his work things in the passenger seat before making the engine roar to life and he quickly pulled out of the parking lot, intent on getting home as soon as he could.

Squall was determined to put as much space between himself and the bitchy customers as possible. Supposedly, the restaurant that he worked fulltime in was a high-class place, but Squall knew better with all the losers that the joint attracted. Sometimes when a customer really got on his nerves, he wanted nothing more than to take the plate of food that he prepared and shove it in the customer's face. He would never do it, the idea was certainly more than just tempting sometimes.

It wasn't like Squall really needed the job; he still had loads of his inheritance left over and he had been working two fulltime jobs ever since he became Irvine's guardian so he had tons of money saved up. His sole concern was making sure that the boy had everything that his little mind could possibly ever want. The brunet was always worrying that he hadn't done a very good job of raising the child and that Irvine was constantly suffering from the lost of his parents; he knew that there was something the teen was continually trying to hide, but he wasn't completely sure that it was from losing his parents.

Squall was so caught up with his thoughts of the boy, that he almost drove his silver car right past his driveway. Glaring down at the steering wheel as if he was blaming the mistake all on it, he slammed on the breaks and slowly pulled his car into the driveway. It was one of the worst parking job he had done in years, he noted as he pulled his bag out and made his way to the door.

Irvine would be home from school by now and the door was most likely going to be unlocked so Squall stuffed his keys in his pocket as he walked up the front steps. As soon as he opened the door, a slight burning smell greeted him. _Irvine's parents died in a fire_, he reminded himself and called out to his adopted nephew. "Irvine," he almost yelled panicking because he knew the teen was completely terrified of fire. "Irvine? Where are you?"

At not receiving a response, Squall dropped his workbag and followed the small amounts of smoke that lead to the kitchen. Just as he entered the room, the fire alarm sounded, making Squall twitch at the sound. He found Irvine franticly running around near the smoke filled oven, trying to get something out of it. The teen cursed rather loudly as he burnt himself and jumped back, bumping into Squall in the process.

Irvine swore again as he turned around to face his guardian. He had hoped to get the mess all cleaned up before the man got home and he couldn't help his eyes watering at the disaster that a simple thing like making cookies turned out to be. Irvine opened his mouth to apologize, but no sound came out as Squall quickly brushed past the boy, grabbing the fire extinguisher that sat on the floor beside the garbage and put out the fire still raging on inside the oven.

Squall didn't say anything as he put the extinguisher away and disabled the fire alarm. He noticed that Irvine was holding his left hand to his chest protectively as the boy fell to his knees and began to cry uncontrollably. Settling down on the floor in front of the upset teen, Squall gently pulled Irvine's injured hand close to his face to examine the burn. He brushed the pads of his fingers over the ugly spot marking the palm of his nephew's hand.

"I'm _so_ sorry," Irvine chocked out. "I-it was an accident."

Squall ignored the boy's apology; he was more concerned about the rather large burn that was sure to leave a scar on the teen's beautiful skin.

Irvine found himself blushing, despite the situation; the teen's heart simply melted at the intense look in Squall's grey eyes as the man inspected the burn. But he quickly pulled his hand away, inching back from his guardian as he wiped away the tears staining his cheeks. "It doesn't hurt anymore," he lied.

Squall only stared back at the boy. He noted the flaming red colour of the teen's face, wondering why he was blushing so much, but brushed it off to the fact that he had just been crying and was still upset.

"I'll clean up the mess in a minute," Irvine continued. He attempted to get to his feet when the unexpected happened; Squall reached out again, but instead he pulled the teen into his arms for a comforting hug. "S-Squall?" Irvine said relaxing completely into the embrace; he breathed in the intoxicating smell, a mixture of his guardian's cologne, skin and the faint, lingering scent of exotic meals. He realized that if he was going to die at that moment, he would die the happiest person on Earth; the last time Squall held him like this was when he used to get very upset and depressed right after his parents had passed away.

"You should be more careful," Squall said, holding the teen closer to his chest and resting his cheek against Irvine's soft chestnut hair. One of Squall's arms stayed wrapped around the boy's shoulders and the other rested at his waist with his hand on the small of Irvine's back. "Garnet would have my head if you died in a fire-related accident as well."

To anyone else, it would have sounded cold and heartless, but Irvine knew better; the older man was just making a joke, trying to lighten the seriousness of what could have happened if Squall had returned any later than he did. His heart swelled in his chest, pressing up against his ribcage as he thought that maybe, just _maybe_ he still had a chance to be with Squall the way he truly longed to be.

"I'll quit my day job so I can look after you more," Squall continued realizing that he only saw this nephew when the boy bounced into his bedroom in the mornings, demanding his kiss before he left for school, the brief time he was home in between jobs and then when he returned from work every night, always unintentionally waking Irvine up when he walked in the door in the late hours of the morning.

Irvine pulled away slightly looking into the stormy grey eyes of the love of his life. He could feel his heart breaking slightly as he gazed into the other's eyes, noting the look of pure concern on his guardian's face; if only he knew how he _really_ wanted Squall to spend his time, the thought colouring his cheeks in a deep crimson again. "You don't have to do that just for me," Irvine whispered, silently hoping that Squall wouldn't listen to him, just so he could spend more time with the older man. "I can take care of myself."

Squall shook his head slightly. "It's the right thing to do," he explained. Rinoa probably would have wanted him to watch the boy grow up, instead of being the anti-social workaholic that he was. "I should have raised you properly, been around more when you need me, so things like this don't happen again. I'm not much of a parental figure …" he trailed off.

Irvine pulled back more; Squall's arms slipped from around the boy's body and back to where they belonged as the teen frowned at him. Was that how Squall actually saw him? Just some burden dumped on the man's doorstep when no one else was available to take care of him? Irvine gave one of his rare glares to his guardian. "I never asked you to be my parent," he blurted out, his voice rising as he looked away. "I never wanted you to be."

Squall frowned, lifting his hand to cup his nephew's cheek as he made the boy face him again. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm not trying to replace your real father."

"You were never a father to me."

"What?"

"I –" Irvine faltered, realizing that now was his chance.

_Say it,_ the little voice in the back of his head screamed as he lost himself in those beautiful grey orbs. _Say it!_

_I love you._

_No, I'm __**in**__ love with you._

_I realized I'm hopelessly in love with you and have been trying to tell you since I was fourteen!_

_Just say it already!_

"I –" he repeated.

Irvine closed his eyes, trying to get his emotions under control and to calm down his pounding heart. When he opened his eyes again, they were glazed over with tears. _I can't,_ he thought. _I can't do it! He'll hate me!_

"Never mind," Irvine said bitterly as he pulled away, got to his feet and left Squall alone in the room.

* * *

True to his word, two weeks later, Squall was on his way home from his last shift at working as a chef at the restaurant. He explained that he needed to spend more time with his nephew to his boss, who was also the owner, so he could be a better guardian to the young teen. The girl had seemed reluctant to let one of her best chefs go; she gave him a handshake before he left, telling him that if he ever decided to come back, there would always be a position waiting for him.

He highly doubted that he'd take her up on the offer, but it was a fairly decent thing for her to do; he needed to spend as much time as he could with Irvine after neglecting him since he turned twelve for a new job.

He still had not figured out what the boy way trying to say to him. Neither of them ever mentioned what happened between them that day and things were more or less back to the way they always were. He thought Irvine had been so close to telling him what he'd been hiding all this time, but in the end, the boy only walked away, leaving Squall more confused than ever. Irvine made it very clear that he didn't think of Squall as a parent; so what did the teen think then? An uncle perhaps? Or maybe something different. The whole thing just gave Squall a headache and made him realize that he barely knew anything about the child he raised.

The part that had Squall perplexed the most was the fact that when he was about to leave that night for his job as a bartender, Irvine stood stubbornly leaning against the wall of the entranceway, without saying a word, obviously waiting for his kiss. After Squall had given it to the boy, Irvine gave him a small wave and a sad smile before he returned to his bedroom.

_The kiss,_ Squall thought. He had obviously failed at being any sort of parental figure to the boy. But just as he always had, Irvine demanded his kiss before they parted, like Rinoa and his father had done for him when the boy was still a child. If Irvine didn't think of him like a member of his family, then why did the teen always want to be kissed on the forehead? It is certainly something parents do for small children only. _Children._ _Irvine's not a child anymore; he grew into a beautiful young man_. He should have grown out of it, but instead he still stubbornly demands it.

Squall silently cursed for thinking such a thing as he quietly let himself into the house he shared with his so called 'nephew'. He walked into the living room without a sound, watching the boy sit cross-legged on their couch, working on his homework while he listened to the television.

He suddenly realized that Irvine was more than just beautiful; it was like it was the first time he had actually ever looked at the teen. His eyes lingered on the boy's face, noting the way the soft wavy chestnut locks framed it in an almost girlish way. He watched the way Irvine's stunning violet eyes flickered from his homework to the TV as the boy looked his through thick lashes and smiled at some remark the character made on the electric glowing box. Squall's eyes moved down to the teen's velvety lips, loving the slight pouting look they had to them. It made them seem so damn kissable and out of nowhere Squall wished he had permission to kiss Irvine's lips instead of the smooth skin of his forehead.

_What's wrong with me? _Squall thought. _I always thought of him as family. A little brother at the very least._

_But he's not, _a little voice inside Squall reasoned. _He's not related to you at all. You just raised him._

_But it's wrong, _Squall countered.

_No, it's not._

Realizing he was arguing with himself, he let out a frustrated grumble but was unable to tear his eyes away from the slender figure resting on the soft cushions of the couch.

Irvine looked over when he heard his guardian behind him. He smiled lightly at the fact that Squall had been staring intently at him; the look changed quickly changed back to a blank expression and if it were anyone else, they would think Squall was just being his normal cold self; but Irvine quick enough to catch the man staring at him. His heart rate swiftly increased speed as he thought about the possibility that Squall might actually have feelings other than parental care for him.

"How was your last day at work?" Irvine asked.

Squall leaned back against the doorway. He was fully aware the boy had just caught him staring like that and he cursed himself for letting it happen, but for some reason all Irvine did was smile at him. "Fine," he said after a minute. "I'll drive you to the academy tomorrow morning. And I have time to make you breakfast, so make sure you're up."

"What?" Irvine said, violet eyes widening. Squall never drove him to school unless he was late, and even then, the man didn't like it; Squall didn't enjoy preparing meals outside of work either, and he just offered to do both things for Irvine!

"Finish your homework," Squall advised the boy, barely giving Irvine a chance to respond before he exited the room and vanished from the teen's view.

* * *

"And then he made chocolate chip pancakes for me this morning," Irvine said to Selphie and Zell, all sitting at one of the lunch tables in the cafeteria. "After the kiss he told me that he was going to pick me up from school too. He hasn't done that since I was like twelve!"

"Aw, that's so sweet," Selphie squeed with delight and took another sip from her juice box.

"And you still haven't told him yet?" Zell asked.

Before Irvine had a chance to respond, a tall broad-shouldered blond marched up to the table they were sitting at and slammed his fist down on the cold surface beside Zell, making him jump. "So this is where you disappeared to, Chicken-wuss," the teen said, settling down next to other blond. "I was about to give up looking for you." He went to put his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, but Zell quickly swatted it away as he blushed furiously.

"Hello, new transfer student," Selphie said, grinning like what was going on in front of her was completely normal. "Sorry, I don't remember your name ... "

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Seifer?" Zell half yelled, glaring at the blond intruding his personal space. "Don't touch me. Go aw-"

"Zell," Selphie interrupted with a devilish glint in her emerald eyes. "That isn't a very nice thing to do to a new student. We should make him feel welcome."

"Yeah, Zell," Seifer smirked. "Better listen to your girlfriend."

Selphie sat back and giggled while Zell fumed with anger.

"She is _not_ my girlfriend!" The enraged blond shouted.

Seifer's smirk only grew at the statement.

"Speaking of significant others … " Selphie trailed off, turning her attention back to the silent brunet.

"Yeah, man," Zell said. "Did you tell him yet?"

Irvine sighed. Last night he had marked another day off on his calendar with an 'x'. Those were the days he has failed to tell Squall his true feelings. Every time he crossed another day off on his calendar, he felt a little piece of himself die somewhere deep inside his soul. Irvine decided that he'd had enough of that, not ever wanting to live through that ever again. "No," Irvine said miserably.

"Tell who what?" Seifer inquired.

"Irvine has yet to confess his undying love to his male guardian," Selphie supplied with a smile.

"Selphie!" Irvine hissed, glaring at the small brunet. "What the hell did you tell him that for?"

"He was most likely going to find out anyways," the girl said eyeing Seifer. The blond only sat in his seat silently with an eyebrow raised. "Besides, maybe he can help!"

Irvine cursed at the girl in his mind, knowing she was definitely up to something bad. He didn't know what yet, but in time it would probably be revealed. With a frustrated sigh, Irvine pushed away the lunch Squall had prepared for him, losing his appetite as he put his head down on the cool surface of the table. "If only there was some way for me to tell Squall that I'm gay without actually saying it to him, it would make it a lot easier for me to tell him that I love him," Irvine said quietly, more to himself than anyone.

"What, you mean like having him walk in on you fooling around with a guy, or something," Seifer suggested. "That'd be one hell of a wake up call."

Irvine slowly raised his head from the table, staring at Seifer and grinning from ear to ear. "That's it." He said. "That's _exactly_ what I'll to do. It's **_perfect_**."

* * *

_**AN: **_Ooooh. Internal stuggle awesomeness. And Seifer came in, yay! I hope you guys were able to realize that the title applies to **both** Irvine and Squall. And if you weren't able to catch it then I guess you'll never know. Smirks

This chapter is deticated to gingerbread men.

May 5, 2007:  
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	4. Chapter Three

**_AN: _**Please don't hurt me. I really wanted to have this chapter up a long time ago, but lots of stuff happened. But right now, no more stalling; read on!!

* * *

**_Chapter Three: Dance with Disaster_**

Squall sighed as he glanced around the dark atmosphere of the area he was currently bartending. It was a slow night, leaving him not very much to do and he found himself checking the clock behind him for the third time that hour. The glowing red numbers read 1:34am, only about two and a half hours until Squall's shift ended for the night and he's be back at 9:00pm the next day to do it all over again.

"Starin' at that damn clock ain't gunna make time go by any faster," a raspy voice said from beside Squall.

He looked over his shoulder to see his co-worker wiping down the already clean surface of the bar's counter. "I can dream, Cid," Squall said before he turned back to the clock; 1:35am.

The older man laughed as Squall leaned against the back counter so he was facing the open room and ran a hand through his hair. He'd been having trouble keeping himself busy over the past few days, ever since he quit his other job. He found that he wanted to spend more and more time with Irvine, just to pass the time. They'd watch a movie together or Irvine would sit in the kitchen and talk about all kinds of things while Squall prepared meals. And when he wasn't with the teen, he realized that he couldn't keep his mind off the boy.

_What's wrong with me?_ Squall thought. _I'm not in love with him; he's just a kid._

_It's okay to be in love,_ the little voice in the brunet's head reminded him.

_Not with Irvine, _Squall countered, absent-mindedly smoothing the pads of his fingers along the scar on his forehead. _I raised him …_

The man didn't have very much time to think about it because he was brought from his thoughts when one of the regulars waved at him from a stool on the other side of the counter. "Hey," the redhead slurred. "Gimme another drink. And make it a Hell Fire."

Squall glanced over at Cid, to see the man shaking his head, before he turned back to the customer. "Sorry Reno," he said. "You've had enough alcohol for tonight. The only thing you're getting is water."

Reno made a huffing noise and turned to look at the man sitting beside him. "This is Leon," the teenager informed the blond, gesturing to Squall. "He's always tryin' to look after me. Tryin'a sober me up."

Squall resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the kid. "You've been in here every night since you turned nineteen," he commented. "Of course I'm looking after you. If I didn't you'd drink yourself to death."

"Reno, your birthday was three months ago," his outraged companion almost yelled. "You come here just to get drunk every night?"

Squall took the time to actually look at the blond when the man spoke. He was fairly good looking with gravity defying spiky hair. He couldn't help but notice the way his blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark, almost as if something was making them sparkle from it's depth.

"Aw, calm down, Cloud," the redhead sighed. "Leon's just joking. I don't come every night."

Cloud crossed his arms on the counter and glared at the blond. "I doubt that he was lying."

"Cool it," Cid said, walking over to join the conversation. "Squall's just treatin' Reno the same as his kid, is all."

"It's Leon," Squall automatically corrected.

"Whoa, Leon's got a kid?" Reno looked on with awe. "When did that happen? Who's the mother?"

Cid smirked down at the redhead. "His sister," he said simply.

"W-what?" Cloud said, almost choking on air.

"No way," Reno said before he burst out laughing. "But I thought you're gay."

"Cid, stop that," Squall said, his anger rising. Since when did his personal life become the subject of everyone's gossip? And Cid's compulsion to lie was really starting to get on his nerves. "He's not my son. And she wasn't my sister."

"So let me get this straight," Cloud said, frowning at Squall. "You're taking care of some random chick's kid just for the hell of it?"

The brunet glared. "Not 'just for the hell of it'. I have my reasons. Rinoa wasn't my sister, but we shared a foster home together. I'm taking care of her son because I'm the closet thing to family he has."

Cloud nodded. He seemed to be going over all the information in his head. "But you're still gay, right?" he asked after a moment.

Squall glared, as if to say _what the hell do you think_?

Reno leaned over and put his arm around Cloud. "Of course he is," the teen said. "This is a gay bar after all." He stared giggling madly and added as an after thought, "the only one who's not is Cid."

"Why's that?" Cloud asked.

"Because he got fired from all the other bars around town," Squall supplied, eyeing his co-worker with a frown.

He turned around for a second to look at the clock again, this time the red numbers read 2:06am; Squall sighed.

* * *

"This is suicide," Zell said for the third time following Irvine and Selphie down the hall of Garden Academy. "Complete suicide. He's going to kill you." 

Selphie turned around and glared up at him. "Will you be quiet?" she asked. "Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Yeah, relax," Irvine said, turning the corner and heading for the exit of the school. "Everything's going to be fine."

"But I've got a bad feeling about this," Zell insisted.

"It's probably just those four hotdogs you wolfed down at lunch," Seifer mocked from his position beside the other blond. "And your whining is getting on my nerves as well."

Shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants, Zell glared over at Seifer. "What the hell are you doing here anyways?" he asked.

Seifer shrugged. "It was half my idea," he said. "I wanna see what's going to happen."

The four stopped as they reached the end of the hallway and looked out the window of the door to the schoolyard. "I see him," Selphie said after a moment of searching. "He's over there at the picnic tables." She pointed to the left, at the boy sitting by himself at one of the tables.

"D'you even know what you're going to do?" Seifer asked, standing over the short girl to get a look at Irvine's target.

"No, I'm not sure yet," Irvine said looking over as well. "Somehow I need to get him to help me with the plan."

"But why does it have to be _him_?" Zell asked.

"How many other gay guys do you know that would be willing to help me out?"

"But -"

"There's no one else," Irvine said. "It has to be him."

"He's not even the big bad ass that everyone thinks he is," Seifer commented.

"See, Zell," Selphie said looking at the blond. "Irvine'll be just fine. Just have some faith, kay?" She turned to Irvine and gave him a good luck hug. "I'm sure if you just asked him nicely, you two could make some sort of deal."

"Yeah," he said, hugging the small girl back. "I've got nothing to worry about."

Zell looked glanced over at his friends and shook his head. "I still think it's a –"

"Just shut up," Seifer said, putting his hand over the smaller boy's mouth to silence him. "Irvine, just go already before Zell has time to whine about it more."

"Right," Irvine agreed. "I'm going." With a last look over his shoulder at his friends, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the sunlight letting the big metal door close behind him.

Irvine casually strolled up to the picnic tables and stood next to the lone boy sitting there. The brunet began to play with the end of his sleeves out of nervousness when his presence didn't seem to faze the other teenager. "Mind if I sit down?" Irvine asked, hoping he didn't look as awkward as he felt.

Piercing red eyes stared at the brunet through a long veil of black silk hair. The teen shifted in his seat to look up and down Irvine a few times, but he didn't say anything.

Irvine took the silence as a sign that he wasn't welcome, but he sat down beside the other anyways. Before he had a chance to say anything else, the guy shifted again and suddenly there was something sharp jabbing into his side. Irvine looked down and saw his reflection staring back at him from the knife's shiny surface.

"You got a death wish, kid?"

Irvine swallowed hard, for the first time realizing just how stupid his idea was. He forced his eyes back up to the boy who was threatening him and tried to stay calm. He had a plan and he wasn't about to chicken out now just because some tough guy decided to pull a knife on him.

"No," he replied with a surprisingly relaxed voice. "I just –"

"Just what?" the teen asked, pressing the blade harder against Irvine's side. The pressure was enough to cut the fabric on his shirt but not Irvine's delicate skin.

"I just," he repeated, forgetting what he wanted to say; the seriousness of the situation was starting to kick in and he decided that it would be best to start over. "You're Vincent Valentine, right?"

"Yeah," Vincent said. "Now that you know my name, go home to your mother before I really start to cut you open."

"I don't have a mother," Irvine immediately responded. "She died."

Vincent pulled the blade back slightly, and he frowned. Irvine could tell that the other was unsure if what he said was the truth or not. The brunet didn't really care if the other teen believed him or not; he was determined to get Vincent to help him with his plan one way or another.

"What do you want?" Vincent asked after a moment of silence. He put his knife back to wherever he had been hiding it before.

"I came to ask for your help."

"Not interested," Vincent said.

"Just hear me out," Irvine pleaded. "You're the only one who can help me."

"I don't need your problems," the older teen glared. "Just get one of your friends to help you. Or are you going to tell me that you don't have any as well?"

"I have friends! They just don't have the right …" the brunet paused, searching for the right word. "Requirements for what I need."

Vincent narrowed his eyes at the other. "What do you mean 'requirements'?"

"Well, um, they're not …" Irvine stopped himself from saying something that might insult Vincent and make the older teenager actually spill some of his blood this time.

"They're not?"

"It's complicated," Irvine finally said. "I'll explain everything if you agree to listen to my plan."

"Whatever," Vincent sighed. "Just spit it out already."

"Ok, ok," Irvine started. "I have a crush on this guy –"

"You're gay?"

"Yeah," the brunet blushed. "Well, I guess. Squall's the only person I've ever really liked. But the problem is, I've never seen him go out with anyone, so I don't even know if he likes men or women. Hell, I haven't even heard him talk about anyone that he likes."

"Ok," Vincent said, thinking it over. "So where do I come in?"

"Well, I had this really stupid plan that if I could just tell him that I'm gay and see his reaction, I could tell if he'd hate me or not and if he doesn't hate me then I'd be able to tell him that I like him, because I don't want him to suddenly disown me or something."

"Whoa," Vincent said, putting a finger to Irvine's lips to silence the younger teen. "Who exactly is this guy that he'd disown you if he didn't like the fact that you're gay? Is he your brother or something, because I'm not helping you in any way so that you can get it on with your brother."

Irvine glared and pulled out of arms reach from Vincent so he could speak. "Squall is not my brother! And he's not related to me at all, he's just my guardian," he explained. "My parents didn't have any family so when they died, I was going to be sent to a foster home until I could be adopted or whatever. But my social worker was able to find Squall. He was a guy that my mom shared a foster home with briefly before she turned eighteen."

He paused going over the memories in his head. Irvine hadn't even told any of his to his best friends and there he was, spilling pieces of his past to a guy he'd just met. _What the hell am I doing,_ Irvine thought. _I just need to convince him to help me, I shouldn't be telling him everything about my life._

"Anyways," Irvine continued. "He's only my legal guardian until I turn eighteen. That's all you need to know."

"So what's your big plan?" Vincent asked.

"Well," Irvine started. He suddenly felt very light headed and he was sure that his cheeks were burning bright red with embarrassment. He realized that he didn't know how to tell Vincent about what he needed the other boy to do. "Well," he repeated.

"Are you ever going to tell me, or are you just going to sit there and stare at me until lunch is over?"

"I need Squall to catch me with someone," Irvine finally decided on the words as he blurted them out rather unexpectedly.

Vincent raised an eyebrow at the brunet's statement. "So something like a pretend boyfriend?"

_A pretend boyfriend. _The words echoed in Irvine's mind. That's exactly what he needed, and it was an easier way of putting it. All he had to do now was somehow get the older teen to agree to help him out.

"Yeah, a pretend boyfriend," he couldn't help repeating it, letting the words roll off his tongue, it sounded so right in his ears. Maybe things would start to get better from this point. Irvine didn't have a clue, but he hoped it would get better; all he needed was Squall to love him and everything would be perfect.

"And by 'someone', you mean me, right?"

Irvine was pulled from his thoughts and he made eye contacted with Vincent again. He guessed that his face was completely red by now and he fidgeted with the end of his sleeve. "Um, yes."

Vincent nodded, standing up from the picnic table. He lifted one leg, stretching the muscles awkwardly as he stood in front of Irvine. The brunet shifted his position, back leaning against the table as he looked up at the other. "Your plan is ridiculous," Vincent said, reaching into his pocket and lighting up a cigarette.

Irvine looked away, staring at nothing as he felt all hope leave him. He regretted asking Vincent in the first place, he had no right to drag the other into his problems, but somehow he knew he would have regretted it even more if he hadn't tried. He smoothed his head over his hair to rub at the back of his neck before letting it fall back to his lap. "Ok, I understand," Irvine said pushing off the table to stand up as well. He didn't realize how close Vincent was when he was sitting down; standing they were less than an inch apart. Irvine stood as still as he could, mesmerized by the way the older boy's cold eyes bore down into his own. He found himself wondering what it would be like to lean up and press his lips against Vincent's.

He was ripped from his thoughts when Vincent roughly shoved him back down in the seat. "I didn't say you could leave yet," the older teen said, straddling the boy beneath him. Before Irvine knew what was happening, Vincent's hand had both his wrists pinned on the hard surface of the picnic table and another hand was in his ponytail, forcing his head back.

"What are you doing?" Irvine asked. He started to panic and squirm underneath the older teen, only making Vincent hover over him closer and press against him harder.

"Shut up," Vincent growled, his breath ghosting over Irvine's lips as he shifted closer. Vincent's grip was so tight around his skin that it was cutting off the circulation to Irvine's delicate hands.

"You're hurting me," Irvine said faintly. But the look of pure fear reflected in Irvine's eyes only seemed to add fuel the fire that was Vincent.

"I'll play your little game," he said using his free hand to roam from his prisoner's soft hair down his chest to rub his palm along the brunet's bony hip. "I'll be your little matchmaker. So long as I get paid."

Vincent gave Irvine one last shove into the picnic table as he pushed himself off the boy. He leaned in again, close to Irvine's head and whispered something into his ear.

As Irvine watched the other's retreating from, he couldn't help but wonder what he had actually gotten himself into. He shifted into a more comfortable position after stretching out the abused muscles in his back. Zell's voice sang threw his head like his best friend was actually there beside him. "_I told you this was a bad idea," _his imaginary Zell taunted.

"Shut up," Irvine replied out loud. He fisted his hands in his hair just as the bell ran signaling the end of the lunch period. Sighing, Irvine stood up straightened his uniform and began to walk towards the school as Vincent's lasts words echoed through his mind.

_"And I don't mean with money."_

* * *

**_AN: _**Ok, the end here is a little messed up ... And actually the beginning is a little messed up too. And for all the people who realized that the names of the drinks that they serve are the names of the attacks from the GFs in VIII, give yourself a pat on the back (that sentence really didn't make any sense, but oh well).

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I hope you will continue to read and wait for more chapters to come.

This chapter is deticated to ninja chipmunks.

July 7, 2007:  
Reviews: 18  
Hits: 779  
Favs: 4  
Alerts: 13


	5. Chapter Four

_**AN: **_I apologize for the long wait. And for the mistakes I missed because I know there are probably a few, but it is sooo boring reading over your own work.

* * *

_**Chapter Four: A Sight for My Sore Eyes**_

Irvine sat on the same picnic table that he did a few days ago when he recruited Vincent as his pretend boyfriend. His eyes flickered between the visible entrances of the school. At any given moment Vincent would be waltzing through one of those doors like he owns the place and the thought gave Irvine the urge to throw up. The upcoming 'impending doom' was either going to make or break his relationship with his guardian.

While scheming earlier in the week with Selphie, Irvine realized that today was the perfect opportunity to set his plan in motion: grocery day. Squall leaves every second week on Wednesdays at exactly three o'clock to buy groceries. Irvine knew that his guardian had a specific routine that he followed every time he went out and bought groceries and Squall would be back home around five after four, just like he always did. The only difference this week would be the surprise waiting for Squall when he got home.

Irvine glanced at his watch for the third time for what seemed like forever but was in fact only five minutes from the first time he looked. _He's late, _Irvine thought. He took a few deep breaths to attempt to calm himself down a little, with absolutely no luck; He was just as nervous and freaked out as he was this morning.

He remembered waking up at the crack of dawn trying to himself prepared for the days events. He had gotten off to a very shaky start, accidentally waking Squall up when he tripped trying to get out of the shower and somehow ended up falling flat on his ass. He proceeded to assure the questioning Squall on the other side of the bathroom door that he was indeed fine. Only after finally convincing his guardian to go back to sleep, was he able to do his hair and get dressed. Even though it was against school policy, Irvine put a little dab of make-up on, only a little so it wasn't too obvious but enough that he looked more gorgeous than ever with a thin line of navy blue eyeliner outlining his already stunning eyes. After Irvine decided he was completely ready for school, he ran into Squall's bedroom for his kiss and rushed off to catch the bus he was about to miss.

Ten minutes had past before movement caught Irvine's eye. Vincent came strolling around the side of the school building heading in Irvine's direction. Vincent held his blazer over one arm, his dress shirt untucked, and the top few buttons undone revealing his pale chest, his tie nowhere to be found. A dark red bandana that Irvine had never seen before had been carefully tied around the other's head, stray pieces of long black hair falling out of it and flowing in the wind as he walked. As Vincent neared, he took one last drag of the cigarette that rested between his lips and flicked it into the grass, stray embers and ashes falling in its wake.

Irvine stared blankly at the teen in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak a few times but quickly closed it, forgetting what he was about to say. In fact, watching Vincent strut his stuff over to there was the most captivating thing he had ever saw. For a single moment, Irvine forgot about the reason why he was sitting there.

When Vincent spoke it snapped Irvine out of his trance. He didn't know what the other had said, but he cursed. Hating the fact that he forgot about Squall even for a small second and had inappropriate thoughts about Vincent.

"I thought I told you to meet me here at three-thirty," Irvine said. He tried not to look at Vincent when he spoke. He didn't trust himself not to say something stupid.

Vincent's only response was a quick 'yeah whatever' before he started walking back in the direction he appeared from.

"It's lucky that you have a car," Irvine continued. He hopped off the picnic table and followed Vincent's lead. He was such a nervous wreck that he just kept rambling as he stared down at the grass. "We missed the buses so it might have been impossible to get home before Squall otherwise. Thank god because I don't think I could handle the stress again if we failed and tried to do it again in another two weeks, but then again I'd have more time to prepare for –"

"Do you ever shut up?" Vincent asked as he unlocked the passenger door to his car then walked around and let himself in on the other side. "You're starting to piss me off. I might just walk away if you keep annoying me."

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so nervous and I don't know if this is even going to work. I mean, me and Selphie just thought this up three days ago and – "

"Irvine, shut your mouth," Vincent demanded glaring at the teen sitting beside him in his car.

"Oh right. Sorry …" Irvine trailed off. He wanted to keep talking, do anything to get his mind off of the possibilities of what could go wrong. Instead, he fidgeted with the sleeves of his blazer, pulling on the loose strings while he stared out the window and waited for the short car ride to be over.

* * *

When they walked in the house, Irvine had left Vincent standing in the living room while he darted off to his room to fix his make-up and style his hair a little better. Irvine had yelled a quick 'make yourself at home' as he searched for his eyeliner. He lost it completely when he realized that they only had about five minutes before Squall would arrive. 

Irvine hurried back into the living room as fast as he could. He found Vincent looking at a picture of a small Irvine and Squall standing in front of their house the day after they had just moved in. Vincent had a small smile on his face as he stared at the old photograph, but it was gone the second he noticed Irvine in the room and quickly replaced the picture frame in its original place on the table beside the couch.

Irvine shrugged off Vincent's out of character behavior and walked around the couch to stand beside the other teen. He felt extremely awkward as he searched for the words to say but Vincent beat him to it.

"We should get started on this before your boyfriend gets here," he said glancing out the window that overlooked the lawn and driveway. They had parked a far ways down the road to avoid any suspicion. Irvine didn't want Squall to know that Vincent was here until he walked in on them.

"Yeah, of course," Irvine agreed. "Um, whatever we're going to do we have to do it on the couch …"

Vincent stared blankly at him, not one emotion showing on his face.

Irvine got even more nervous under the intense heat of Vincent's gaze. He felt like he had eaten a bunch of butterflies and the very tips of the insects' wings were brushing up against the thin lining of his stomach. He felt like he was going to throw up again.

"The front door opens up into the living room," Irvine explained quietly, trying to fill the awkward silence that filled the room. "The couch is pretty much the first thing you see when you open the door."

Vincent looked over his shoulder at the front door as if he didn't believe the statement Irvine had made about his own house. When he turned back to Irvine, the smallest hint of a smirk played on his Vincent's lips and in the next second he had the brunet sprawled out on the soft cushions of the couch.

"What are you –" Irvine began but was quickly silenced by Vincent's mouth. He felt a warm tongue being forced past his lips, sliding sickly along his teeth to greet his own tongue. This time he actually _wanted_ to throw up. He pried his face away from the assault, his head almost hanging of the side of the couch, as he took short rapid breaths and tried to keep his gag reflex in check; this is not what he wanted Squall to walk in on.

"Relax," Vincent said running his fingers through Irvine's loose hair. He was surprised to see that Irvine had taken it out of its usual ponytail. He figured that it was rare for anyone to see him with his hair like that. The strands were so soft and wavy and smelt faintly like fruits that he almost didn't remember what he was going to say next. "I'm just doing what you brought me here to do."

Irvine didn't say anything. He continued to stare at the blank screen of their forty-seven inch TV; his mind was racing, but the rest of him was almost perfectly still. Irvine wouldn't agree or deny anything. He knew full well what he enlisted Vincent to do; he just hadn't anticipated the other to come on so fast and he certainly hadn't expected Vincent to be that forceful.

Vincent glared down at the boy he was straddling. The so-called 'love of Irvine's life' was going to be there soon and he wanted to have a little fun with the kid before all hell broke loose. The truth was that his heart had skipped a beat when Irvine first approached him that day; Vincent had always thought that Irvine was damn sexy, but never imagined that he'd get a chance, even if it was a fake one, with the teen.

"Look, Irvine, if you really want this guy to believe that we're going out, the best way to do it is make it real."

Irvine turned his eyes to Vincent but his head stayed where it was. "I know."

"And your guy is going to be here soon."

Irvine finally turned to face Vincent. He stared up into Vincent's eyes trying to find the right words. "I just … I don't know. I've never done this sort of thing before and I was wondering if we could take it just a little bit slower …"

"Slower?" Vincent said, raising his eyebrow and almost laughing at the suddenly shy teen under him. "Listen kid, this isn't a fairy tale. I'm not your prince charming and we don't have any time left to be romantic and shit so just sit back suck it up if you want this to work."

"Well that's only half true," Irvine confessed, looking anywhere but at Vincent's face.

"What do you mean?" Vincent shifted his hips to put himself into more of a sitting position and caught them both off guard from the unexpected friction it caused. Not caring that he had just asked the other teen a question, he moved back into his original position of hovering over Irvine. He lost himself in the depths of Irvine's violet eyes, slowly inching his face closer to the brunet's.

Irvine found himself blushing at the intense look in Vincent's eyes. Something had changed in Vincent; there was the same thing in Vincent's eye now as there was when he had been looking at the photograph. He felt naked in front of his pretend boyfriend even though he was well aware that he was fully clothed. The butterflies in his stomach seemed to morph at that moment, into something bigger with a much larger wingspan. "Vin-Vincent …" he trailed off not even knowing what he wanted to say.

"Is this slow enough for you?" Vincent asked. His breath lightly ghosted over Irvine's lips before he gently closed the distance between them in a soft kiss. The pair of lips beneath his was velvety smooth and he regretfully pulled back a moment later. He rested he forehead against Irvine's. Vincent suddenly had the urge to take the brunet right then and there; he didn't care if Irvine's guardian walked in on them like that. In fact it would be better to walk in on them having sex on the couch. _Who knows, _Vincent thought, _maybe we could put on a show for him …_

* * *

Squall stared at the little piece of paper in his hand that was his shopping list. He had been wandering around in the store an extra half hour longer than usual and it was seriously beginning to affect his mood. All but three items on his list had been crossed off: Bumble Bee biscuits, Fantasy Gingerbread Cookies and Olympus Ice Cream. He had never heard of those things, but Irvine had assured him before he left for school two days ago that they were real and that he wanted to try them. Even the four employees he had asked didn't have a clue about what he was talking about. 

Squall was ready to give up and go home when he heard someone call his name. More specifically he heard someone call out his bar name. He turned around to see the blond he had met approaching him being followed by a smaller kid with bouncing gravity defying spikes, just like Cloud's. The two shared the same glowing blue eyes, but the younger of the two had brown locks that strongly contrasted Cloud's blond.

"Hi," Cloud greeted, but Squall only glared at the pair. The likeness between them was amazing, the only real differences between them were their hair colour and the fact that the brunet was smiling cheerfully and Cloud was almost scowling. _This kid has to be Cloud's, _Squall thought bitterly. _He had some nerve to judge me the other night. At least Irvine isn't my son._

Cloud seemed to catch on to the fact that Squall was staring at the teen he was with. He put an arm around the brunet hugging him; the kid's smile only grew wider at the contact, hugging Cloud back. "Sorry Leon, this is my little brother, Sora."

Sora gave Squall a small wave, smiling so much that it looked like his face was going to split in two at any second. "Nice to meet you."

Squall forced a quick smile down at the kid. _Great, now I'm jumping to conclusions and being judgmental._ Before he knew what was going on, Sora had excused himself and slipped off somewhere, so it was just Squall and Cloud standing in the middle of the cookies and crackers aisle. "Sorry," Squall said, not really sure what to do next. He had never encountered anyone he knew at a store in the past so he really had no experience with these kinds of situations. All he knew was that he just wanted to go home; he hated grocery shopping and grocery stores. "I have to get going. Irvine will worry if I'm late."

A look of disappointment flashed across Cloud's features. "Yeah, sure," He said. He shoved his hands in his pockets and pretended to inspect a specific brand of animal crackers.

Squall had been ready to take his leave, just as Cloud started talking again.

"Maybe sometime we could go out for coffee or something," He avoided Squall's eyes like a preteen schoolgirl with a crush. "That is … if you wanted to."

It took Squall a second to register that Cloud was actually asking him out. He considered the idea for a moment; it had been a very long time since he had last been on a date, since before he took Irvine in. If he did decide to go out with Cloud, he'd have to keep it a secret though. After all, he had no idea how it would affect Irvine.

He didn't even know the blond, only having met him a few nights ago when he came in with Reno. But obviously that's why people have first dates, to get to know one another. Squall thought Cloud was fairly attractive, he noticed now that the other's eyes glowed all the time and not just from the florescent lights from the bar.

Cloud held out a business card he had taken out from god knows where, and Squall accepted it, placing it neatly away into the pocket of his leather jacket without even glancing at the letters and logos that decorated its surface. "Alright," Squall said giving a small wave as he turned to leave. "See you later."

Cloud smiled as he watched Squall walk away. "Later," he echoed quietly to himself before he went off in search of Sora.

* * *

Squall finally turned into his driveway, thankful to finally be home. He wondered if Irvine was pacing around the house sick with worry. It was a likely possibility since that's what he always did when Squall wasn't home when he was supposed to. Irvine would just about run around the small house in a state panic if he hadn't received a phone call telling him that his guardian was going to be late. 

Squall got out of the car, and took two bags of groceries with him as he made his way up the walk to the front door. Irvine always leaves it unlocked for him so Squall just let himself in. He set the groceries down by the door and froze when he the unmistakable sound of his adopted nephew moan.

He wasn't prepared for the scene that awaited him in the living room. A girl with flowing long hair down to her back was facing the other way on top of Irvine. Squall was thankful because as far as he could tell, they both still had their pants on, but the girl's shirt was hanging down around her elbows.

Squall cleared his throat loudly as he entered the living room, but the two seemed to be too caught up in what their actions to even notice anything besides the noises that they were making in the otherwise silent room. He approached the end of the couch where Irvine's feet were hanging off the end of the armrest, and cleared his throat again.

The movement on the couch froze. Irvine suddenly struggled to get out from under the girl; he ended up stumbling off the couch, almost taking his friend with him. He stared up at Squall from the floor, his face completely flushed.

"You're home," Irvine trailed off unable to think of anything else to say to break the awkward tension that filled the air in the room. Breathing hard, he got up off the floor and crossed his arms in a futile attempt to cover up some of the hickeys and bite marks that stained his otherwise flawless chest. He knew Squall had already seen what they were doing, but that's what he wanted, right? Irvine felt the guilt creep up on him; he couldn't remember ever feeling this empty and alone.

A quiet 'yeah' was all the response Squall could force out at the moment. The whole situation seemed so surreal to him. It was like a bad dream he couldn't wake up from. His eyes kept scanning up and down Irvine; it was like a train wreck he couldn't look away from. And the fact that Irvine's pants were undone and threatening to fall off his slim hips wasn't helping either.

Finally the girl, who hadn't moved at all since Irvine left the couch, turned to look Squall in the eyes. He was sure he was wearing a look close to something like a deer being caught in the headlights now; the 'girl' was in fact a boy.

Irvine almost died when Squall looked over at Vincent. It was like the situation had finally sunk into his guardian's head; that Irvine had been fooling around with another guy in the living room. He needed to get Squall's attention away from Vincent and back on him. It didn't matter that Vincent was there anymore, only Squall's reaction mattered, and Irvine had to pay very close attention to everything that Squall did.

"Squall this is my –" Irvine paused. _Boyfriend?_ Somehow he just couldn't bring himself to say it. "Friend, Vincent."

Squall's eye twitched slightly, Irvine had almost missed it, but it was there. He couldn't tell yet if it was good or bad; Squall had all kinds of reasons for doing that. He was still more or less glaring at Vincent; it was like the two were trying to stare each other down.

Vincent smirked. Not breaking eye contact with Squall, he stood up and moved closer to Irvine, wrapping himself around the other and he whispered something into Irvine's ear. "See you at school," He said louder, now looking at Irvine. "I'm off." He fixed his shirt so it rested properly on his shoulders but he couldn't be bothered to do up the buttons.

Squall glared daggers after Vincent. _If only looks could kill, _he thought.

Irvine was busy frantically pulling at his pants and doing them up again. His face had darkened three more shades when Vincent had whispered that his fly was down. He couldn't even believe that Vincent had done that. Worst of all he didn't even remember the other teen pulling the zipper down or even undoing the button.

The sound of the front door closing echoed in Irvine's ear and for the first time in his life he dreaded being alone in the same room with Squall. He had been so lost in the moment with Vincent earlier that he completely forgot all about the plan and even Squall. Irvine had been so ready to have sex with someone that wasn't his guardian and the guilt was now eating him alive.

Irvine chanced another look at Squall. The man was staring at him with a look of shock, confusion and a hint of anger thrown into the mix. Irvine didn't know what to do or say so he just continued to watch his guardian, trying to read him like a book, desperately hoping for some tiny signal that said Squall didn't hate him.

Squall stood, struggling to keep his emotions under control, and that was something he rarely had a problem with. After several moments of him staring at Irvine and clenching and unclenching his fists, he remembered about the groceries that were still in his unlocked car. Thankful for the distraction, Squall headed for the front door, stopping when he put his hand on the knob. "Put your shirt back on and help me bring in the groceries," Squall said, closing the door behind him as he disappeared from Irvine's sight.

* * *

**_AN:_** So, you'll be happy to know that this is the longest chapter I've ever written (or maybe disappointed because it's still not as long as other stories out there). Oh, and I do apologize if the paragraphs seem somewhat jumpy. I know they just kinda went from what one person was thinking straight to another randomly. There was just so much info I wanted my readers to know, but it really didn't all fit. 

Oh and one more thing, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story, every reviewer and everyone who will read this. So, thanks.

This chapter is dedicated to Hairspray (I've seen it four times already).

August 20, 2007:  
Reviews: 24  
Hits: 1155  
Favs: 5  
Alerts: 16


	6. Chapter Five

_**AN:**_ I'm sooooo sorry it took me this long to update! I haven't given up, I swear. I still have readers for this story, right?

Long story short: I had this chapter almost done a looooong time ago, but then I lost the chapter and it's taken me this long to get out of the writer's block that I fell into. But I'm out of it now and I sat down at 11pm and I've pretty much been writing non-stop to get this done for you guys; it's 3am now. Please love me.

~*~

_**Chapter Five: All That's Left is a Hallow Pain**_

Selphie sat on her bed with her legs crossed and she stared impatiently at her cell phone that she had placed in front of her. The sun had set hours ago and the small brunet was dying to know how things went with her best friend; but Irvine hadn't contacted her or Zell to tell them what happened. She had already left a voice message and two text messages on Irvine's phone, but the stubborn teen hadn't responded to them.

Finally she sighed, getting up and putting the electronic device away and she gathered her things to get ready for bed. From time to time Irvine would purposely not talk to her or Zell about how his latest plan went and waited to tell them when he got to school but Selphie was hoping that this wouldn't be one of those times.

Irvine's most recent plan had definitely been one of his craziest ones. _Pretend boyfriend,_ she thought as she pulled off her clothes and stepped into her bright yellow pyjamas. Selphie was just worried, not because it was a terrible idea, but the fact that Irvine had chosen Vincent Valentine.

After brushing her teeth, she climbed into bed. Hugging her pillow close, she tried not to think about everything that could have gone wrong. Selphie had to admit that when she was told that Vincent pulled a knife on Irvine, she had freaked out as much as Zell, but she had to trust that her friend knew what he was doing._ He'll be okay_, she tried to convince herself as she drifted off to sleep.

In the morning, Selphie had a quick shower and ran around trying to get her stuff together and ready for school. She rushed down the hallway, nearly knocking over her older brother in a fit of panic as she tried to remember where she had left her pencil case.

"Hey, watch it Selphie," her brother warned as he fiddled with the tie of his school uniform. "Where's the fire?"

Selphie pause for a moment and turned around to stare at her brother. "My pencil case is the fire," she explained. "And I'm looking for it."

"Is that all?" he asked giving up on his school tie for the moment. He ran a hand through his dyed blond hair with the roots showing. "Help me with my tie and I'll tell you where it is."

"Deal," Selphie said as she bounced over and attacked the material around his neck with her fingers. She pulled and yanked at the tie until it looked decent and then she stood back to look over her handiwork. "Kay Tidus, where's my pencil case?"

"On the floor by the kitchen table," he told her. "And don't leave your stuff lying around all the time. I tripped over it this morning while I was trying to make breakfast."

"Sorry," she called over her shoulder as she darted into the kitchen in search of her lost item. Selphie ducked around the table, finally spotting it and she quickly retrieved the green object. She stood up and tossed it from one hand to the other, celebrating her small victory when her eyes fell on what was lying on the table in front of her. "You made me breakfast too?"

"You're running late, aren't you?" Tidus asked following his sister into the kitchen. He was all ready for school and had everything neatly packed into the school back, which was casually resting over his shoulder. "I also made your lunch for you. It's on the counter," he said gesturing to the small brown bag that sat on the kitchen counter.

"You're my favourite brother Tidus," she said and quickly took her place at the table and started to dig in.

Tidus snorted at her comment and snuck up behind her to affectionately ruffle her hair. "I'm your only brother," he said. "Now hurry up or you'll make me late as well."

~*~

They ended up arriving at school later than Selphie would have liked. She didn't have much time to look for her friends so she quickly rushed into the school heading to the first place she could think of. But when she got to Irvine's locker, she was disappointed to find that no one she knew was hanging around there. A little bummed out but still just as determined, Selphie set off to see if they were at anyone else's locker.

A few minutes of racing around the school later, Selphie was tired and slightly aggravated. The small brunet stood by her locker, the last place she had chosen to look. While she was there she decided she might as well put her things away and get her books ready for her first class of the day.

She grasped her lock harder than necessary and used her thumb to do the familiar combination. Selphie yanked at the lock, but in her haste she must have overshot one of the numbers and the lock didn't budge. Frustrated she tried again, this time the lock opened without a hitch.

Selphie pulled her school bag off her shoulder and roughly shoved it in her small locker. Taking only her needed textbook, binder and pencil case out of her bag, she slammed the locker door shut and clamped the lock bag on.

She took one last look down both sides of the hall before giving up. She only had two minutes before the first bell rang for class and she still hadn't found anyone. Feeling defeated, Selphie slumped back against her locker and let gravity pull her down to the floor. "Why can't I find my friends?" she asked out loud.

"Perhaps you aren't looking hard enough?" a dark voice answered.

Selphie looked up and was surprised to see none other than Vincent Valentine standing in front of her. He had his usual rebellious red cloth tied around his head and his normally blank face sported an evil smirk at the ends of his lips.

"What do you want?" Selphie asked harshly. Her patience had worn thin and she didn't want to have to sit there and deal with Irvine's pretend boyfriend.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Vincent mocked. "I was under the impression that you were looking for your friends." He tuned to walk away but not before adding, "my mistake."

"Wait," Selphie called after him, quickly climbing to her feet. "Do you know where they are?" she asked when she had caught up to him. She had to take several steps to keep up with his long strides.

"I might," was his ambiguous reply.

"Where are they?" she tried again as she followed him around the corner and down another busy hallway.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because!" Selphie shouted, having had enough of Vincent's behaviour. She stomped her foot, making Vincent stop and turn around to smirk at her even more as she continued her angry outburst. "Irvine is my friend and I need to find him because I need to know what happened yesterday, not that you care!" She paused in her little rant to cross her arms over her chest. "You wouldn't understand," she glared at him. "You don't have friends."

Vincent seemed to consider her words carefully before he finally spoke. "In that case," he said. "Irvine's sitting outside on one of the picnic tables."

Selphie was thrown off for a second by receiving a straight answer for once. She muttered a quick 'thank you' at the older boy before brushing past him in the direction of the school's exit that led to the picnic area. Quickening her pace she pushed through the doors just as the bell rang signalling students to get to their classes. Selphie ignored the annoying ringing and looked around.

For a moment, she almost thought that Vincent had lied to her, but Selphie was thankful when she spotted Irvine standing up from a picnic table and he began to slowly walk in her direction. She waited patiently for him to reach her. Neither saying a word, they walked to class together, stepping inside the classroom just in time for class to begin.

~*~

By the time lunchtime had rolled around, Selphie was almost dying of curiosity. They hadn't had a chance to discus the previous day's events all morning. Irvine never talked about the issues with his uncle in class anyway; most people would get the wrong idea if they overheard bits and pieces of the conversation. They were especially worried about teachers or any other authority figure finding out. Irvine was afraid that if any adults knew that they might think it was wrong and try to separate the teen from his guardian.

"Irvine, hurry up," Selphie whined tugging impatiently on the sleeve of her best friend's uniform. "Let's go."

"Alright, alright," Irvine said as he closed and locked his locker after grabbing his lunch. He let the tiny girl drag him down the hallway to the cafeteria. By the time they reached their usual table at the far corner of the giant room, Selphie was practically bouncing with excitement. "Where's Zell?" Irvine asked when he realized their hot dog loving friend was nowhere in sight.

Selphie sat down across from Irvine and opened up the lunch that Tidus made for her and pulled out a turkey sandwich. "Making out with Seifer behind the school?" she guessed then took a big bite out of her sandwich.

Irvine was about to take out his lunch when he paused to raise an eyebrow at Selphie. "What makes you say that?"

The small girl shrugged as she continued to scarf down her food. "Seifer totally wants in Zell's pants," she explained between bites. "But who cares about them. What happened yesterday when you brought Vincent home?"

Irvine took his time in explaining, trying not to leave out any detail. "And then Vincent left," he said when he was done explaining. "Squall looked kinda confused and angry. Then he just told me to put my shirt back on and help him bring in the groceries."

"Hmm," Selphie said. Her mind was simply buzzing with all the new information; She'd have to try to remember everything to fill Zell in later. "Do you think that he was angry and stuff because he found out you're gay or because of the way he found out?"

"I don't know," Irvine answered honestly. "It could be either one." He sighed loudly and looked sadly down at what remained of the lunch his guardian made for him. "He should never have found out this way. I should have just told him."

"Irvine, you never would have gotten the guts to tell him," Selphie explained, playfully rolling her eyes. "At least he knows now. That's a big step for you." She twirled the empty juice box in her hand for a moment. "You can't back down now, not after you've come this far."

"I guess," Irvine half agreed.

"What happened after you brought the groceries in with him?" Selphie asked after a minute of comfortable silence.

~*~

_Irvine had finished placing the last two bags of groceries on the kitchen counter when he looked over to study his uncle's behaviour. He watched Squall's back as the man began emptying the bags and started putting the various items away. It had been a while since Squall had said anything to Irvine and normally it wouldn't bother him, but with the previous hour's events, the teen was dying to uncover his uncle's thoughts._

"_I'll help put stuff away," Irvine said in a tone that he hoped wasn't as awkward as he thought. He picked up two cans of chicken broth and turned to go put them away in the cupboard but Squall quickly pulled the cans out of his hands._

"_I got it," Squall said, his expression unusually blank. "Go work on your homework. I'll call you when dinner's ready."_

"_But," Irvine started to protest._

"_Please," Squall interrupted. _

_Irvine knew that tone as Squall's parental way of saying 'do what you're told right now' so without another word, the teen retreated to his bedroom. Upon entering his room, he picked up his school bag and began to fish out his homework. Irvine didn't really feel like doing it, but it needed to be done and it was a simple enough distraction._

_When it was time for dinner Squall silently appeared in the doorway for Irvine's room. The teen had already finished his homework and was lounging on his bed reading a book. Squall stood and observed Irvine's relaxed form for a minute before he spoke. "Come eat," he told his nephew. "I made fettuccini alfredo."_

_Irvine jumped slightly at the sound of Squall's indifferent voice. "Coming," he said putting the book aside and getting up to follow Squall back into the kitchen. Squall had already laid out the food on the table and Irvine sat down across from his guardian to eat._

_They ate in silence; the only sounds filling the room were from knives and forks occasionally scraping against the plates or the sound of chewing and breathing. Again, Irvine found the absence of talking unnerving. Usually he could always find something to say or have an excuse to flirt innocently with Squall, but until he could figure out how the man felt about all of this, he remained silent._

_Squall seemed like he didn't like the silence either. Or was it Irvine that he couldn't stand? He ate quickly and when he was finished, he got up from the table and unceremoniously dumped the dirty dishes in the sink. It was another bad sign, according to Irvine since they regularly washed and dried the dishes together._

"_I've got to go to work early tonight," Squall said, still standing in front of the sink with his back to Irvine. "Just leave the dishes and I'll do them tomorrow when you're at school."_

_**I'll do them tomorrow**__, the words echoed in Irvine's head. He was being left out of a task they had done together ever since he could remember. _

"_Okay," Irvine said as he put down his knife and fork and pushed his still half full plate of food aside; he had lost his appetite._

_Irvine watched as Squall retreated to the kitchen's exit, but he stopped for a second and turned around again. He made his way back to the kitchen table where Irvine sat and reached out for his nephew. He leaned in and noticeably hesitated before he quickly kissed Irvine's forehead. It seemed like only a second had passed by the time Squall had grabbed his car keys and rushed out the front door._

~*~

"Whoa, he _hesitated_?" Zell asked. Halfway through the story he and Seifer had joined Selphie and Irvine at their lunch table.

"He did that this morning too," Irvine sighed. He leaned forward and rested his head on the cool surface of the table.

"I don't believe it," Selphie gasped, shock clearly written all over her face. "What does it mean?"

"I disgust him," Irvine mumbled in reply. "That's what it means."

"Oh Irvine," Selphie in a sad tone as she looked at her friend. She felt so helpless that she couldn't even think of anything comforting to say to him.

"He's probably going to our social worker right now to get rid of me," Irvine continued his depressed rant.

"Oh, shut up," Seifer finally spoke up. He leaned over and with a lot of force, smacked Irvine in the back of the head.

"Ow," Irvine whined. He sat up and put a hand over the sore spot on the back of his head. The initial hit had stung for a bit and now it just left a dull throb. "What the hell was that for?"

"You're being a wuss," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You got exactly what you wanted, right? You wanted him to know you're gay and now he does."

"But he hates me," Irvine protested. "How is that exactly what I wanted?"

"Talk to him," Zell suggested.

Irvine turned to his tattooed friend and just started at the blond. "What good will that do?"

"You said so yourself that you two have pretty much been avoiding all forms of communication," Zell explained. "He's probably just shocked."

"Yeah," Selphie agreed. "You need to be yourself and show him that it doesn't change who you are. And I don't think that he's going to disown you."

Irvine took a moment to process the information. "I guess," he agreed. "I'll give it a shot."

~*~

_**AN:**_ This chapter doesn't really have a lot of plot in it but it needed to happen. I promise the next chapter will definately not take me almost two years to write.

This chapter is dedicated to anyone who is still reading this story.

May 31, 2009  
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